Fatphobic cultural messaging around dieting has led to a massive issue surrounding eating disorders and mental health among youth.

In an article published in Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics in 2015, researchers found that because adolescence is such an important time for body image development, 12-to-18-year-olds with a negative perception of their body or weight are more likely to develop eating disorders or dysfunctional exercise habits.

Of course, obesity can be linked to numerous health concerns but disordered eating and mental health conditions among adolescent is reportedly more likely to pose a dangerous risk than paediatric obesity.

35-to-37 percent of adolescent girls in the US alone report using unhealthy weight loss measures, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. These methods include fasting, smoking, taking laxatives and 'skinny teas', skipping meals and even vomiting.

One-in-three adolescents in the UK alone reported experiencing mental health issues, according to a troubling survey by the charity Action for Children.

More than 12 percent of adolescents in the US are affected by depression every year.

Many people on social media were furious about the Kurbo by WW app. Jameela Jamil, an activist and actress who runs the iWeigh campaign for body positivity, tweeted her disgust at the news.

“Are we kidding? Breeding obsession with weight and calories and food at the age of…8?" she wrote. "I was 11 when my obsession started, due to being put on a diet for being the heaviest girl in the class. I became afraid of food. It ruined my teens and twenties.”

we are appalled and disheartened by the new @ww_us app. Kurbo teachinf and promoting dieting behavior. ⁣⁣35% of "normal dieters" progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full-syndrome #eatingdisorders. #wakeupweightwatchers

Petitions have already been created against the app, with the hashtag #LoveNotDiets trending to urge parents to use love rather than diets to help their nutritional habits.

Childhood obesity is still an incredibly serious public health challenge of the 21st century, and the app attempts to reduce a child's sugar intake. There is nothing wrong with promoting healthy foods and exercising for physical and mental health benefits.

However, many parents feel that instilling a diet-centered mindset among young people who are already vulnerable could be a dangerous mistake. Targeting the mental health crisis could be a more productive way forward.

A post shared by Nicole Scherzinger (@nicolescherzy) on May 19, 2017 at 6:27pm PDT

“I have a lot of fans and I never wanted to come out about it, because I was ashamed. But once I finally did come out about it, I realised how many people it had helped.”

But, just like everyone else, she has her goood and bad day. Speaking about her X Factor co-star, Nicole joked: “Mrs O and I were joking the other day that sometimes we wake up in a puddle of cookies and crisps! But what really helps me is working out. Even if it’s not for very long, (I love) to get a sweat on to keep me focused and positive.”

The singer finished off by encouraging women to not be so hard on themselves and to make an effort to embrace their figures.

Nicole Scherzinger has opened up about her battle with bulimia, and how it was incredibly difficult for her to talk about it in public.

“It was hard for me to speak about, it still is hard, and thinking about it I try not to well up.”

The gorgeous singer first revealed her struggle with the disease back in 2012 during an episode of Behind the Music on VH1, saying that she hated herself at the height of her fame with The Pussycat Dolls: “I really was so disgusted with myself and so embarrassed. I felt so alone. I was in a group, and I never felt so alone in my life.”

Nicole has now spoken out about how the disease nearly robbed her of everything: “I had started losing my voice, I couldn’t sing at shows, and then I remember my manager finding me passed out on the floor in Malta or in the south of France.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to lose everything I love if I don’t love myself.’ One day when you feel like you’ve reached the end, you just say, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ It’s sad to see how I wasted my life. I had such a great life on the outside, the Dolls were on top of the world but I was miserable on the inside. I’m never letting that happen again; you only get one life—I was 27 only once.”

The singer says that the reason she empathises so much with people who are going through tough times, is because of what she went through herself, and she offered some words of encouragement to anyone who is feeling defeated:

“It is such a horrible paralyzing disease and it was such a dark time for me. That’s why I can empathize so much with people who have demons and voices in their heads, who aren’t nice to themselves. It robs you of living your life. But you can recover and you can get rid of it forever. I did it and that’s why it’s so important for me to share my story. I felt so alone…but I made myself so alone. You hide it from the world, you isolate yourself. But you can beat it—do not give up because you’re so special and you’re meant for such great things.”